Hampden bowed to Diego Maradona on June 2, 1979 when he was only 18. Scotland, that sunny afternoon, were swept away 3-1 by the world champions from Argentina, still enjoying the momentum of their great triumph in Buenos Aires the year before.
Some of the familiar figures were on the team sheet handed to me in the commentary position. Luque, Passarella, Fillol, Houseman, for instance. But there, amidst this constellation of stars, was a name that, as I recall, excited no interest other than me pondering how a teenager could fit into the galactic talent surrounding him. Dubiety did not last long.
I vividly recall how this diminutive figure began to energise the proceedings from one of his first characteristic long dribbles. He stamped pace